I’ve created an arrangement of the classic Simon and Garfunkel tune, Bridge Over Troubled Water for low “g” ukulele. It is a chord/melody solo. I’ve included the lyric to the first verse merely as a guide for learning the arrangement.

Here is a simple arrangement for solo low g ukulele of the old standard, “You Always Hurt the One You Love,” that was requested by one of my students. Though I’m mostly familiar with the Spike Jones version with crazy bells and whistles, this version is based more on the version by the Mills Brothers, et al who start in 3/4 and play it nice and slow.

KaraUke ® is the band or orchestra without the solo ukulele so YOU get to provide the solo instrument.

I arranged the popular standard, “Wind Beneath My Wings” for solo ukulele (low g) and recorded it. Upon listening to the recording, I thought it would be nice to add a bass, so I did. It really needed pretty picking guitars so I added those. Then I thought, “If there’s a bass, there should be some drums,” so I added drums. I’ve always loved strings so I added those too. The trombones and french horns were just aching to play too so I added them. So now it’s uke and orchestra.

Here is a version of “Side by Side” I created for beginners. The first section repeats three times within the song and the middle section is based on familiar chord shapes so it’s not as complex as it looks.

It has been recorded by many artists, but is probably best known in a 1953 recording by Kay Starr.[1] Harry Woods, who practised songwriting only as a sideline, wrote numerous 1920s standards, including “When the Red, Red Robin Comes Bob-Bob-Bobbing Along”, “I’m Looking Over a Four-Leaf Clover”, and “Try a Little Tenderness”. He composed his songs on piano, despite the fact that he was born without fingers on his left hand.[2]

So, fellow uke-stars… If Harry M. Woods can compose those great songs on the piano with only one fingered hand, you all can learn this arrangement with two!

Just take it a couple of bars at a time. Master those bars before moving on. There is a lot of repetition, as in all of these songs, so once you get the first section, you’ll have half of the arrangement. Here is the TAB: